Guwahati: Assam is facing silent demographic invasion from external forces. This is an observation by the Guwahati High Court. “Assam is facing a silent and invidious demographic invasion” due to unabated illegal migration from Bangladesh, the high court observed. It described the phenomenon as an external aggression on the demography of the state. The high court also upholds the state’s absolute right to expel any declared foreigner even if the deportation is not possible.
A divisional bench of Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Susmita Phokan Khaund made the important remark while dismissing a petition by one Rejia Khatun whose husband Majibar Rehman alias Majibar Sheikh was arrested by police as he had been declared as a foreigner by the Foreigners Tribunal in Chrang district in July 2019. The declared foreigner Majibar Rehman was arrested by Assam police in May 2025 when he was on bail since 2021. Rejia Khatun in her petition alleged that police didn’t serve any prior notice to him before re-asserts in May this year. She sought his production in the court, medical examination of him and direction to restrain his deportation.
Rejecting Rejia Khatun’s petition the divisional bench of the High Court ruled that any person declared as a foreign national by the Foreigner’s Tribunal order 1964 doesn’t enjoy any fundamental rights guaranteed to the citizen of the country under Article 19 and 21 of Indian constitution.
The declared foreigner cannot claim any fundamental rights to reside, move freely or carry out any trade or vocation in India relying on the previous Supreme Court order, the court said. The high court also ruled that the central government holds the “absolute and unfiltered discretion” to expel foreigners from Indian territory.
Referring to the observation of the supreme court in the Sarbananda Sonowal IMDT case, where the large scale of influx of illegal migrant to Assam from Bangladesh was described as “external aggression”, the divisional bench opined that demographic changes has serious implications for the state’s unity and internal security.
Quoting from reports cited in the Sarbanda Sonowal judgment and reports of former governor of Assam Lt. Gen SK Sinha the bench noted that the continuous inflow of illegal migrants from Bangladesh “threatens to reduce the Assamese people minority in their own state” and the state could face disastrous strategic and economic consequences.
Notably the high court also referred to the former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Mujibur Rehman’s writing on Eastern Pakistan where he wrote: A prosperous East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) would require Assam’s resources for its expansion. The court said that these references underline the scale and intent to the demographic changes now unfolding in the region.
The court also criticised some misinformation warfare by a section of the media which describes Assam’s action against illegal migrants as religious persecution. “It is perhaps a wrong perception to project that a religious persecution is going on in the state of Assam and such claims are misinformation warfare carried out by some persons having vested interest against the country in general and against the state of Assam in particular”, the high court described. The divisional bench of the Guwahati High court drew a clear distinction between deportation and expulsion. It said if a person entered Indian lawfully and later overstayed here he/she should be deported while if a person entered illegally he/she should be expelled from the country.
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